Sick of breaking NTN bindings...

[Ederxc]

As for the toe box issues: I'm on Scarpa TX Pros (the older yellow models). I wasn't ever able to 'fix' the toe box problem, but was able to warranty them for a new set each time. I think my boots finally wore in enough, and maybe got lucky with the metal on the binding this time. I also think it's super important that your powertubes are working well. If they get rusty or are not smooth thru their spring progression it puts stresses on the boots & bindings in other places.

I ski patrol, so am in and out of my skis a ton during the day as well as walking. Thus, the toe of the boots is quite worn, which is probably a factor. I also think it is some lateral movement/slop is beginning to occur where it should not be at the pivot point. It's frustrating to watch the binding slowly tearing itself apart. I've got an email in to scarpa/rottie so i'll let you know if there's anything to help in their reply...

[Johnny]

I really don't like the feeling of knowing that my bindings are 'fragile' while I race down the hill... It keeps me from fully driving them... Too bad they have so many problems, because it's really the best thing when it comes to lateral stiffness.

I asked the question because I'm curious to see if it happens with the latest bindings too... You mentioned warranty, were those the latest black freerides?

I know a guy who bought a huge bag of broken bindings from Scarpa, so I every time I break one, I just ask him to ship me another cup... I tried welding the broken cups too, and it works perfectly... I never broke a welded one, maybe they are stronger this way... : )

[RiderOnTheSluff]

You are definitely not alone - I broke 3 or 4 metal toe cups in the first 2 or 3 years I was skiing NTN and I am only 165 lbs.

Hasn't happened to me in at least two seasons - I've never broken a toe cup on an NTN that wasn't orange, so I assumed Rottefella had addressed the issue.

It did always happen to me on carving type days with hard snow so if all your mileage is East Coast that might be the reason you are getting so many.

It is really scary when they go since you suddenly can't edge that ski at all and for no apparent reason - until you look at the toe cup.

[Johnny]

Great! Thanks for the info...!

I might switch to black next year then...

[nurse ben]

I led the league in NTN binding breakage in the first three seasons, so I feel your pain.

I'd hoped that Rotte could do better in their second binding, but it also has breakage issues and it appears to be an icer as well.

Rotte has opened up the patent to Twenty Two Designs, so maybe that'll be an option for next year...

I ski TTS, three seasons running, no problems with breakage.

[Johnny]

They must be a bit less active then the Freerides no?

I like my plastic days to be *VERY* aggressive... SL carving on east coast ice... I wouldn't break anything on the TTS?

Wow! A Hammerhead TTS franken!! Got some pictures?!

[bogon]

On backcountry talk Ben said that he skis hard snow mostly (eastern resorts, something like that), and we all know he's rough on gear, so I guess his TTS-AXL is indeed pretty durable.

Seeing some pictures of TTS-Hammerhead would be great, though.

[nurse ben]

I have some pics of the HH TTS somewhere, maybe I posted them already?? Look on the EYT used gear and see if I put pics up on my ad. I'm moving to WA this week, so there's no time to post pics, but I'll get them up sooner or later.

Essentially what I did was cut the bale off the steel toe piece and replace it with a SS plate. The TTS binding bolts to the plate, otherwise the binding is an HH. I lost the most forward pivot point, so only positions 2-5 function. It skiis pretty well, might even end up mounting it again if I don't build something else; I only have so may tech toes to go around.

My HH TTS "tester" was really quite simple: I cut the toe bale off, then drilled into the nylon shim, attached a tech toe, and went skiing. It was durable enough for turns, though long term the tech toe would probably tear out or the pivots would pop free.

I had a thought in regards to the TTS Axl...if you wait until the NTN AXL is available, the quasi step in/twist to pretension portion would make a nice back end to use with a TTS. You could also contact Burnt Mountain Designs and see if there are any more TTS prototype plates remaining...

[Nils]

TX comps aren't ultra stiff at all. I use mine for BC skiing; they are adequately stiff for most skis, like a T1. So I doubt that's the cause of your toe cup failure. My resort pounding is on v1.0 Evos, which are much much stiffer.

On ttips there would be rare--but somewhat regular, say 2 people per year--reports of this failure. I've never seen it IRl around here and neither have the shops. Can you post a side-on pic of the boot in the binding, with heel piece? How vertically tight is the boot toe in the toe cup?

[Johnny]

The Evos are stiffer? A friend just bought a pair and he said the bellows were really soft...

I could get a pic... The thing is that it always happen with the rear foot, the one with the tele position... One turn you drop the knee and cling, it breaks...